Air ventilated insole



Dec. 28, 1965 E. BURNHAM 3,225,463

AIR VENTILATED INSOLE Filed on. 12, 1962 9 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 V/I/IIINVENTOR.

F1- .1 BY

Dec. 28, 1965 c. E. BURNHAM AIR VENTILATED INSOLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledOct. 12, 1962 Fig 10 United States Patent Ofifice Patented Dec. 28, 19553,225,463 AIR VENTILATED INSOLE Charles E. Burnham, Western Ave., Essex,Mass. Filed Oct. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 230,228 2 Claims. (Cl. 36-3) Thisinvention relates to foot wearing apparel and more particularly to anair ventilated insole for a shoe.

The skin of the human foot exudes perspiration in varying degreesdepending on such factors as the temperature of the air surrounding thefoot, the amount of physical activity being performed by the foot, andthe natural propensity of some persons to perspire more than others. Thecomfort and health of the foot is greatly influenced by the rate ofevaporation of the perspiration generated by the foot. If theperspiration evaporates rapidly, the foot will be cool and comfortable.The rate of evaporation is controlled by the relative humidity of theair surrounding the foot and the rate of air circulation around the footand between the toes.

The relative humidity of the air surrounding the foot is difficult tocontrol, but various methods have been devised to increase thecirculation of air between the toes and around the foot. Open toedshoes, shoes with ventilating holes, and sandals have all increased thenatural circulation of air around the foot. However, these methods arenot applicable to a regular shoe which substantially encases the entirefoot with leather.

Accordingly it is the primary object of the present invention to providean air ventilated insole for use with regular shoes.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an airventilated insole which can be incorporated in the shoe duringmanufacture or inserted at a later time.

Still another object of the invention is to produce an air ventilatedinsole which utilizes the motion of walking to create a forced draftcirculation of air around the foot and between the toes.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple andinexpensive air ventilated insole.

A still further object of the invention is to produce an air ventilatedinsole which is adaptable to any type of shoe.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one form of an insole made in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section on line 2-2 showing the air pump;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross-sections similar to FIG. 2 illustratingmodifications of the air pump;

FIG. 5 is a cross-section on line 5-5 of the air pump;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a finger air valve;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a flap air valve;

FIG. 8 is a cross-section on line 8-8 of a peripheral air vent;

FIG. 9 is a cross-section on line 9-9 showing the trough, air holes andpassageway.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a modification of the air ventilated insole;

FIG. 11 is a cross-section on line 11-11 illustrating the insole and airpassageways;

FIG. 12 is a cross-section similar to that of FIG. 11 modification ofthe insole and passageways;

FIG. 13 is a partial plan view of the insole illustrating a modificationof the air pump;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the rear portion of a shoe showingone form of air inlet passageway;

FIG. 15 is a cross-section on line 15-15 showing the attachment of theair passageway to the shoe; and

FIG. 16 is a cross-section on line 16-16 showing the modification of theair pump illustrated in FIG. 13.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates the construction of anair ventilated insole 1. The insole can be used as an insert in anyconventional footwear such as in sneakers, loafers or sandals and canalso be manufactured into an insole in a regular shoe modified in amanner to be described subsequently. The insole can be constructed ofrubber, leather or any other suitable material. The insole 1 has acompressible and expansible chamber 2 located in the heel portion of theinsole. The chamber 2 is adapted to operate as an air pump and isprovided with an inlet valve 3 and an ex haust valve 4. A passageway 5connects inlet valve 3 to the outside air. Passageway 6 connects exhaustvalve 4 to the air distribution system indicated generally by 7. The airdistribution system 7 is composed of branch passageways 8 and 9,peripheral passageways 10 and 11, connecting passageway 12 and toepassageways 13,

14, 15 and 16. Passageways 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 16 are provided withoutlet holes 17 to permit the escape of air.

The operation of the air ventilated insole is dependent upon the walkingaction of the wearer. As the wearer steps forward, the heel portion ofthe foot strikes the ground first thereby compressing air pump 2. Thecompression of the air pump forces air out of the chamber throughexhaust valve 4 into passageway 6 and then into the distribution system7 where the air is vented through holes 17 to cool the foot. Troughs 18,19, 20 and 21 are provided to increase the circulation of air in betweenand around the toes.

When the heel leaves the ground, air pump 2 expands and fresh air isdrawn into the pump through passageway 5 and inlet valve 3. The cycle ofalternate compression and expansion of the air pump is repeated eachtime the wearer steps down and lifts up his heel, thus insuring aconstant forced draft circulation of air around the foot.

Since the same cycle of alternate compression and expansion can beobtained with an air pump located in the ball portion of the insole, itis contemplated that the insole could be constructed with the air pumplo cated in that position. If the air pump is located in the ballportion of the insole, the connecting passageway 6 can be eliminated andthe airflow paths from pump to toes shortened considerably with aconcomitant increase in the velocity of the air flow around the toes.

The air ventilated insole can be changed, altered, or modified invarying ways to reduce costs and simplify construction. For example, itis possible to eliminate exhaust valve 4 because the compression ofpassageways 6, 8 and 9 by the ball of the foot acts as a natural valveduring the expansion of the air pump.

It is contemplated that the insole would be manufactured in two pieceswith the necessary depressions formed in each piece to produce the airpump and passageways when the two pieces were mated together. If the twopieces are constructed of a moldable material, the depressions producingthe air pump, passageways and venting system can be formed as anintegral part of each piece. Since the entire ventilating system can beintegrally formed in two matable pieces, the air ventilated insoleoifers the shoe manufacturer a simple and relatively inexpensive meansfor producing ventilated shoes. It eliminates the separate, complicatedand expensive heel air pumps taught by the prior art and provides ameans for ventilating heelless shoes such as sneakers and the like aswell as regular shoes.

FIG. 2 illustrates the general construction of the air pump. The upperportion of the insole is composed of two layers 22 and 23; the uppermost layer 23 having an insert 24 of a material with substantially lessflexibility than the upper layers 22 and 23. The lower portion of theinsole is similarly composed of two layers 25 and 26 with an insert 27in the lower layer 26. Insert 27 is also substantially less flexiblethan the lower layers 25 and 26. The upper insert 24 distributes thepressure of the heel over the air pump in such a manner that therearward portion of the air pump is compressed first. The pressuredistribution is produced by the airfoil shape of the upper insert. Thelower insert 27 tends to maintain the air pump in its originalconfiguration so that the lower portion of the air pump will not besubstantially deformed by the pressure of the heel. Of course, the upperand lower portions of the insole may each consist only of the layers 22and 25 with inserts 24 and 27 omitted or positioned over and under theair pump in the layers 22 and 25 FIG. 3 illustrates a modification ofthe air pump. Since the greatest deformation will occur in the upperportion of the air pump, it is possible to make the lower portion of theair pump completely flat as shown in FIG. 3. This will increase therelative compression of the air in the air pump and thereby create amuch stronger air draft in the distribution system.

FIG. 4 shows a further modification of the insole which utilizes onlyone insert. Insert 27 is located underneath the air pump and tends tomaintain the air pump in its original configuration so that the lowerportion of the air pump will not be substantially deformed by thepressure of the heel.

FIG. 5 is a cross-section of the air pump taken at right angles to thecross-section illustrated in FIG. 2 showing the symmetrical nature ofthe two inserts 24 and 27.

FIG. 6 shows one of many possible forms of construction for the inletand exhaust valves of the air pump. The valve 28 is called a fingervalve because its construction resembles the five fingers of a handwhich are pressed together at their tips to form a roughly conicalshape. The spaces between the fingers are designated as slits which areidentified as 43 in FIG. 6. If air is blown from the center of the handi.e., from the palm towards the finger tips, the fingers will openallowing air to escape from the slits and from the small opening at thefinger tips. If air is blown in the reverse direction, that is, fromoutside of the hand towards the finger tips, the air pressure on theoutside of the fingers will tend to press the finger tips closelytogether, thus sealing the slits. From this description it can be seenthat the finger valve 28 will permit the passage of air in only onedirection. The valve may be formed as an integral part of the upper andlower portions of the insole.

FIG. 7 illustrates a simple flap valve also operable only in a singledirection. The flap valve 29 may be formed as an integral flexible flapextending from either the upper or lower portions of the insole or maybe a separate flap member attached to the upper or lower portions byadhesive o r similar means.

FIG. 8 shows the indentations which are necessary along the sides of theinsole to provide a proper discharge of air through vents 17 in the twoperipheral passageways 10 and 11. For purposes of clarity, only threeindentations are shown in FIG. 1. However, such indentations may belocated along the entire length of passageways 10 and 11. Theindentations are formed by cutting wedge shaped portions from the outeredge of the insole. Vents 17 are cut in the sloping wall of theindentations and are connected to the peripheral passageways 10 and 11.If the indentations are cut deeply enough they will expose a portion ofthe passageways 10 and 11 thus forming a natural vent.

FIG. 9 illustrates a toe passageway 16, connecting vents 17 and trough21. A similar construction is used for the trough-passagewaycombinations 13 and 18, 14 and 19, and 15 and 20.

A modification of the insole 1 is shown in FIG. 10. A series of tubes30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 is disposed in the heel and ball portionsof the insole. Each of these tubes has a widened portion 37 whichoperates as an air pump. The heel tubes 30, 31, 32 and 33 will force airout of the holes 38 every time the heel compresses the air pump portion37 of the tubes. Similarly, the ball portion tubes 34, 35 and 36 willforce air out of holes 39 everytime the ball of the foot is pressed downon the air pumps 37. FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate two possible forms ofconstruction for the widened portion of the heel and ball air pumptubes. In FIG. 11 the inserts 40 and 41 perform the same function as theinserts 24 and 27 described with respect to FIG. 2. FIG. 12 shows amodification similar to the modification illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 13 illustrates a modification of the air pump which is adaptablefor use in an insole.

A heart-shaped air pump 42 is formed with integral slits 43 in the baseand apex of the cordate pump. The curving walls of the cordate pump atits base and apex coupled with the slits 43 define a finger valvesimilar to the finger valve discussed with respect to FIG. 6. The fingervalves and their slits 43 are shown in cross-section in FIG. 16. Eachvalve is operable in one direction only; thus one valve is used as anintake valve while the other operates as an exhaust valve.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the insole used in a regular shoe.In order to provide a source of fresh air, passageway 44 is connectedfrom the air pump passageway 5 to the outside air.

The connecting passageway 44 may be located in the rear portion of theshoe or may be a separate passageway attached to the rear portion of theshoe by known means such as leather strippings 45 and 46 as indicated inFIGS. 14 and 15. Of course, this passageway may have a differentcross-sectional shape than that indicated in FIG. 15. It is alsopossible to use a number of connecting passageways all terminating atthe air pump passageway 5.

Numerous modifications of the preferred embodiments of my invention willnow be apparent to those skilled in the art and therefore, it is notintended to confine the invention to the precise forms shown herein, butrather to limit it in scope to the appended claims.

Having thus described and disclosed preferred embodiments of myinvention, what I claim as new and desire to secured by Letters Patentof the United States is:

1. In a shoe, insole ventilating means comprising: an insole, meansproviding a pump in said insole having a cordate configuration in planview and side elevation with a sharply curved base and an apex whoseinwardly curving walls define slits which form air inlet and exhaustvalves, respectively, for a compressible and expandable chamber in saidpump, said sharply curved base being positioned in the heel portion ofsaid insole for alternate compression and expansion by the heel of thewearer of the shoe while walking; and means providing a passageway insaid insole fluidly connected at one end to said exhaust valve andterminating at the other end in vents located in the upper surface ofthe toe portion of said insole.

2. In a shoe, insole ventilating means comprising: an insole, meansproviding a pump in said insole having a cordate configuration in planview and side elevation with a sharply curved base and an apex whoseinwardly curving walls define slits which form air inlet and exhaustvalves, respectively, for a compressible and expand-able chamber in saidpump, said sharply curved base being positioned in the heel portion ofsaid insole for alternate compression and expansion by the heel of thewearer of the shoe while walking; and means providing a passageway insaid insole fluidly connected at one endto said exhaust valve andterminating at the other end in means 5 forming a multiplicity ofperforated passageways located in the upper surface of the toe portionof said insole and in means forming a perforated passageway disposedwithin the u per surface of the shank and heel portions of said ins-olealong the periphery thereof. 5

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 311,046 1/1885Trask 363 426,495 4/ 1890 Falkner 36-3 10 2,010,151 8/1935 Helwig 3632,080,499 5/ 1937 Nathanson 36--29 2,124,391 7/1938 Baron 363 2,239,2114/1941 Wylie 363 2,474,815 7/1949 Brahm 363 15 2,524,764 10/1950 Burke137-525.1 X

3/1951 Whittington 363 4/ 1954 Crawford 363 9/ 1960 Rychlik 230169 X7/1962 Baumbach 137525.1

10/ 1962 Okuyama 363 FOREIGN PATENTS 3/ 1940 Denmark.

1/ 1953 France.

9/1955 France.

OTHER REFERENCES Bruner: German application 1,108,108, printed MayJORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A SHOE, INSOLE VENTILATING MEANS COMPRISING: AN INSOLE, MEANS PROVIDING A PUMP IN SAID INSOLE HAVING A CORDATE CONFIGURATION IN PLAN VIEW AND SIDE ELEVATION WITH A SHARPLY CURVED BASE AND AN APEX WHOSE INWARDLY CURVING WALLS DEFINE SLITS WHICH FORM AN INLET AND EXHAUST VALVES, RESPECTIVELY, FOR A COMPRESSIBLE AND EXPANDABLE CHAMBER IN SAID PUMP, SAID SHARPLY CURVED BASE BEING POSITIONED IN THE HEEL PORTION OF SAID INSOLE FOR ALTERNATE COMPRESSION AND EXPANSION BY THE HEEL OF THE WEARER OF THE SHOE WHILE WALKING; AND MEANS PROVIDING A PASSAGEWAY IN SAID INSOLE FLUIDLY CONNECTED AT ONE END OF SAID EXHAUST VALVE AND TERMINATING AT THE OTHER END IN VENTS LOCATED IN THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE TOE PORTION OF SAID INSOLE. 